Mark Sutton13 April, 2018
Each time I spot a new statistic flagging the immense subsidy that the UK motorist enjoys at the cost of wider society a little fire ignites inside. This, apparently, turns me into a mathematician...

Rarely a day goes by where yet more evidence (seriously, here’s a whole library of the stuff) emerges making a case for shifting our society away from sedentary travel habits and toward active travel.

The UK Government has given up around £46 billion since 2010 as a result of its decision to freeze fuel duty, further subsidising the motorist when other transport forms get very little. Case in point: e-Car customers can get a subsidy on new purchases, e-Bike buyer can not. It’s been up for discussion, but it’s getting nowhere.

Now bear with me while I button mash the calculator to make a few rough calculations on just what you can buy with £46Bn.

Had the UK Government not frozen fuel duty since 2010, the money gained could have paid to hand nearly 10% of UK roads segregated cycling infrastructure.

Data published at FullFact and on the IFS reveals that some £5.4 billion per annum (in 2017/18 terms) has been lost to subsidising the motorist’s fuel in the past eight years.